Did You Know They're a Doctor?? Quiz

Answer: History

One of the "founding mothers" of the female PI sub-genre, Sara Paretsky created VI Warshawski in 1982's "Indemnity Only." Chicago-based VI is a lawyer turned investigator whose cases focus on financial matters and social justice. Paretsky published "Overboard," the 21st book in the series, in 2022.

Paretsky earned both a Ph.D in History and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1977. Her dissertation was titled, "The Breakdown of Moral Philosophy in New England before the Civil War." She worked full time for an insurance company for much of the time she was in graduate school and continued to work in that field until she had published her first four novels and sold the rights to Disney.

Answer: Medicine (UK)

Graham Chapman was a member of Footlights while studying medicine at Cambridge University. After a break to tour New Zealand with "Cambridge Circus" he completed his studies at St. Bartholomew's Medical College and qualified as a doctor. Chapman co-wrote the classic Parrot Sketch and Cheese Shop Sketch with John Cleese and took the lead roles of King Arthur in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and Brian in "Life of Brian."

Although he chose a writing and performing career over practicing medicine, while on location for "Life of Brian" he pulled double duty as the set physician. Very Naughty Boy by day, doctor by night.

Answer: Art History

Peter Weller already had an impressive acting career, including the title roles in "Robocop" and "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension," when he earned his Ph.D from UCLA in 2014. Weller's dissertation was titled "Alberti Before Florence: Early Sources Informing Leon Battista Alberti's De Picture." Weller came to academia late, enrolling in Syracuse University in his 50s, and earning a master's degree in Italian Renaissance art history before continuing his education at UCLA.

In addition to acting, Weller has directed episodes of the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Streets," "Dexter," and "Longmire."

Answer: Dentistry

Jim Longborg was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1963 after graduating from Stanford University. He made his MLB debut in 1965 and two years later won the American League Cy Young Award with a league leading 22 wins. A knee injury the following winter made his pitching less effective, but his career lasted through 1979, including a year with the Milwaukee Brewers and seven with the Philadelphia Phillies.

After retiring from baseball, he graduated from Tufts University dental school in 1983 and practiced dentistry in Massachusetts until 2017. Although Longborg's baseball career bore no resemblance to that of the fictional Sam Malone, his picture stood in for one of Sam's career in "Cheers."

Answer: Medicine (US)

Ken Jeong began performing at open mic nights during medical school at the University of North Carolina. He completed his residency in New Orleans and practiced internal medicine in Los Angeles while taking acting lessons and continuing to perform comedy. After a few TV appearances, he made his film debut as a doctor (talk about typecasting) in "Knocked Up." He has since appeared in "The Hangover" and its sequels and "Crazy Rich Asians." and is a panelist on "The Masked Singer."

Although he stopped practicing full time in 2006, Jeong keeps his medical license active and has provided emergency medical treatment on movie sets.

Answer: Education

Jill Biden began her career as an English teacher and reading specialist, earning Master's degrees in both Education and English while teaching full time. She earned an Ed.D from the University of Delaware in 2007, 32 years after she had earned her BA degree from that institution.

From 1993 through 2008, she taught English at a community college in Delaware and when her husband became Vice President, she began teaching at Northern Virginia Community College, a position she still holds as of 2024. She is the first Presidential spouse to hold a paying job while living in the White House.

Answer: Astrophysics

Brian May began working on his Ph.D in astrophysics from Imperial College, London while also performing in the band Smile and, after they disbanded, Queen. He co-authored two peer-review journal articles before abandoning his studies to be a full-time rock star in 1974, and wrote several of Queen's songs including "We Will Rock You" and "The Show Must Go On."

In 2006, May returned to academia, completed his research, and earned his Ph.D. in 2007. That October he was appointed a visiting researcher at Imperial College while continuing his music career. He has co-authored two books on astronomy for the general public, "Bang! - The Complete History of the Cosmos" and "The Cosmic Tourist" and in 2014 co-founded Asteroid Day.

May is interested in stereophotography and with Elena Vidal co-authored "A Village Lost and Found" on the stereophotographic work of T. R. Williams.

Answer: Neuroscience

Mayim Bialik began acting in her early teens and played the younger version of Bette Middler's character in "Beaches" before being cast as the title character in "Blossom." After that show ended, she majored in neuroscience and minored in Hebrew and Jewish studies at UCLA, graduating in 2000. She continued her studies at UCLA, earning doing research on Prader-Willi syndrome and earning her Ph.D in 2007. Prayer-Willi syndrome is a genetic condition caused by a mutation on chromosome 15. It's characterized by muscle weakness, slow development, poor feeding as an infant, and hunger.

After graduating, Bialik returned to acting, earning four Emmy nominations as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory." The fictional Amy's Ph.D is in neurobiology.

Answer: Exercise Physiology

Mike Marshall pitched for nine teams in a career that spanned from 1967 through 1981 and became the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award when he won it in 1974. Pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers that year, he led the National League in appearances (106) and saves (21). He earned his Ph.D from Michigan State University.

After retiring from pitching, Marshall taught pitchers a method which he believed would lead to fewer arm injuries. He believed that by rotating their arms early in their motion, pitchers place less stress on the ulnar collateral ligament.

Answer: Communications

Robert Vaughn made his movie debut as an extra in "The Ten Commandments" and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for "The Young Philadelphians" and became a star as Napoleon Solo in the 1964-68 TV series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Vaughn earned Emmy nominations for two 1970s mini-series, "Backstairs at the White House" and "Washington: Behind Closed Doors." Towards the end of his career, he had a recurring role on "Law & Order" and starred in the British TV series "Hustle."

Vaughn earned his Ph.D in 1970 from the University of Southern California with a dissertation titled "The Influence of the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the American Theater 1938-1958." His thesis was published two years later under the title "Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting", and it is part of law school ciruculums.